Challenge is Good
One of the reasons I ADORE my husband is that he motivates and inspires me to to push myself physically.
Take yesterday for example. I was heading out on a late morning run with a 3.5 mile loop planned and I asked him if he wanted to join me. He said “I’ll be ready in 5”. So away we trotted. It was nearing noon and blazing freaking hot and humid as only the South knows how to be. About 2 miles deep he suggested we run “O’Hill”, i.e. a 1.5 mile uphill climb in the opposite direction from home.
Now, I have no problem saying no to this marvelous man but he has a way with words. Just as a myriad of excuses as to why I couldn’t possibly run any further was about to slip from my lips he said “we can walk the hill”. Then I remembered that one of my goals for June was to push myself a little harder than usual in my workouts. So up we slogged. And up and up and up.
It wasn’t so hard-that’s not to say I didn’t walk the steepest hills-and our nearly 6 miles made me feel proud and strong.
He did the same thing with the marathon we ran two years ago. We were out on a little jog and I was telling him about the half marathon I was about to sign up for. I casually mentioned that the full marathon cost the same as the half. His response? “Let’s run the marathon.” (Yeah, we are a thrifty pair.) Two months later we passed through the finish line holding hands.
Tate has inspired me to climb mountains, bike more, and turn 3 mile runs into marathons. In other words, he is one of my great movement catalysts.
We all need people to help us challenge ourselves and to remind us that we are strong and capable of pushing ourselves just a little bit more.
Who’s your movement catalyst?
